Valentine's Day

A snow day did not keep us from enjoying our Valentine's Day Party...even if it was a week later than planned. The students had a great time passing out and opening their Valentine's from one another. And, of course, they loved all of the sweet treats! Enjoy a quick slideshow of pictures from the party.

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Where Does the Brown Bear Go?

Last week we read Where Does the Brown Bear Go? by Nicki Weiss to learn about adjectives. As a part of our study of adjectives the students brainstormed at least six words to describe one of the many animals from the story. They then used those adjectives to write string poems about their animals. Below are a few samples of their quality work:

Cinderella Tales

Over the last several weeks we have been reading and comparing several versions of Cinderella. We read the classic version and two more modern versions, Prince Cinders and Bubba the Cowboy Prince. Prince Cinders is about a skinny, young man who wants to be big and hairy like his step-brothers so he can go to the Palace Disco. With the help of a "dirty fairy" he definitely becomes big and hairy - a big and hairy monkey, that is! Bubba the Cowboy Prince is a Cinderella story with a Texas twist. Bubba is tired of being bossed around by his step-father and step-brothers on the ranch so, with the help of a "fairy god-cow" he hatches a plan to get Miz Lurleen, a local ranch owner, to fall in love with him. To retell the story of Bubba's adventures, the students created Story Maps to indicate the characters, setting, problem, and solution. After reading the classic Cinderella and Prince Cinders, the students worked together to create a Double Bubble Map comparing and constrasting the two stories. They then used the Thinking Map to help them write comparitive sentences about the stories. Along with their sentences, the students illustrated the main characters of the stories. During our end of day read aloud time, we are currently working our way through a collection of Cinderella stories from around the world. Below are a few samples of the students quality work:

Measuring Up!

This week in math we are studying measurement. In first grade we measure with nonstandard units such as lima beans, cubes, linking chains, paper clips, and more. You can have your child practice measuring at home by using things like paper clips, lima beans, small blocks, pieces of evenly cut string or ribbon, etc.

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D.E.A.R.

Last week we had D.E.A.R. time in our classroom, as did all classes in Grand Prairie ISD. D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything And Read. The students had a great time relaxing with their favorite books. D.E.A.R time is a period of silent sustained reading where students read just for fun. Recreational reading has a proven positive correlation with a student's reading ability. As Dr. Seuss said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." I encourage you to have your child read at home every day for at least twenty minutes outside of their guided reading homework book. In class, the students read a book of their choice silently for the first fifteen minutes of class. After reading, three volunteers share information about their book including the title, author, and their favorite part of the story. After sharing, the students answer three questions about the book from their classmates.

Patterns Everywhere!

Over the last few weeks we have been reviewing repeating patterns and learning about a special type of patterns, additive patterns. Enjoy the quick slideshow below of your children having fun while discovering patterns in many hands-on ways!

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Pattern Detectives

This week we reviewed repeating patterns and learned a new kind of pattern, additive patterns. Additive patterns are patterns that grow. As a refresher on repeating patterns, have your child visit the Beacon Learning Center's page to become Pattern Detectives.

100th Day Fun

Today our countdown to the 100th day of school officially ended! To celebrate this special day of school, we began with our 100th day project presentations during our reading block. The students made creative projects including 100 piece puzzles, addition problems out of beans, Valentine hearts, a toy box, eyeball hats and shirts, and much more. During math, the students traced their shoes, cut them out, and created rows of ten until they had a total of 100 shoe patterns. We counted the ten longs as a class and then took them into the hallway to see how far 100 steps would be. The students made predictions to see if our set of footprints would go farther down the hallway than the other first grade classes. The students predicted that our steps would go further because our classroom was closer to the other hallways...they were right! Below you can enjoy a collage of some of our 100 day fun! To enlarge the pictures, click on the magnifying glass.

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Making Words

One of our favorite activities in class is to make words from a combination of set letters. When all the letters are used they make a mystery word. This activity helps with their spelling, reading, and writing. The students are given a set of letters that they cut out and move around to make new words. The letters are color coded so they can easily see that every word needs a vowel. The students take notes on their paper about words they created and then share their lists at group time. Words that are correct are added to the white board for the other students to write down. Words that are not true words we call "Dr. Seuss" made-up words and discuss why they are not correct. The students love to be the first one to come up with the mystery word. We also talk about letters we can add or take away to create new words. Last week we played the game using the word "kitchens" and the students came up with 57 words on their own which set a new class record!

A great way to practice this at home is to give your child plastic letters (can be found in the dollar areas of Wal-Mart or Target) to move around. You can also have your child write down a specific word (longer words work best) and then have them brainstorm a list of words that can be made using on the letters in that word. You can also visit the website Wordle to visit their Words in Words page which will generate a list of words that can be made using specific letters.

Groundhog Day Read Aloud

Yesterday we had the opportunity to visit the library for a great read aloud time with Ms. Tricoli. In honor of Groundhod Day she read Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub. The students had a great time listening to the story, comparing real groundhogs to the groundhogs in the story, and learning some interesting facts about how groundhogs live. Questions you could ask your children about groundhogs include: Do they live in Texas? How many feet do they dig per day? Do they live in one room in their tunnel? They really enjoyed the story including the Groundhog Weather School quiz at the end!

Dominoe Doubles

During Math Tubbing time, the students practiced identifying Addition Doubles and their Doubles +1 partners using dominoes. Dominoes are a great, inexpensive math manipulative that you can use at home. Many families already have a set of dominoes at home. The dominoes can be used for addition practice, for quick number recognition, and to identify Doubles and Doubles +1 or -1 as we did in class.

Fluency Work

As a part of their reading development, the students are expected to read with fluency and expression. A great way to help them practice "reading like they talk" is by using a recording software that allows them to hear themselves. At the school we use a recording software program, Audacity. Our class frequently practices reading our weekly poems into the program with a goal of becoming better with each reading. Because they get immediate feedback, the students become extremely engaged in the activity and even the most reluctant readers love to be the star of their own reading show. One of the best features about Audacity is that it is completely free to download and your child can begin immediately using it in conjunction with your computer's microphone.

Read with Roy

If you are looking for more strategies to help your child learn to read and write, visit Guided Reading and Reading Games with Roy the Zebra. The website is based on stories about Roy the Singing Zebra. This fun site offers progressive, animated stories along with matching discussion cards, worksheets, and games. The discussion cards are a great way to help your child think about what the story means in order to move beyond literal retells of the story. The games span a wide variety of topics that help in reading and writing including focuses on capital letters, punctuation, vowel sounds, blends, and rhyming words.

The Napping House

This week we read The Napping House by Audrey Wood to learn more about cause and effect. We learned that cause is why something happened and that effect is what happened. After reading the book through, the class made a Multi-Flow Map to retell the key events and discussed how each event caused another event to happen. The students then chose their favorite cause and effect from the story to write and illustrate about. Below are a few examples of their quality work:

Johnny Appleseed

This week in Social Studies we read and studied about several American historical figures. One of our historical figures was the legendary Johnny Appleseed. As a part of their study, the students created their own apple tree graphic organizers. Each student wrote at least one fact about John Chapman, aka Johnny Appleseed, on each apple.

U.S. and Texas Symbols

In Social Studies we are learning more about symbols and mottoes of both The United States and Texas. A great site for you child to visit is Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government for Kids. The site is full of information that the students will love including American symbols and songs. Although the site is intended and designed for students in Kindergarten through Second Grade, you may need to help your child read portions of the website. To learn more about Texas, we read L is for Lonestar: A Texas Alphabet by Carol Crane. The students then made diagrams of several of the symbols. For more information on Texas symbols, visit the State Symbols page to see actual pictures of the symbols.

The Mitten

Last week we read The Mitten by Jan Brett to practice retelling a story. After reading the story several times, we worked as a class to create a Multi-Flow map of the story's main events. The students then worked in partners to create their own mittens. On their mittens, they wrote one key event from the story which we then pieced together in order.

Play the Game: Place Value

As we continue our study of larger numbers, we have been playing many math games to help us practice comparing the numbers. One of the class favorites is a game in which the students roll two dice and then decide what is the greatest possible number. They then build the number using Base Ten Blocks. Once each player has rolled and built their number, they compare them to see who had the greatest number. To practice building larger numbers at home in the Base Ten Block format, you can use items such as toothpicks, straws, pretzel sticks, or pencils as the "tens" and items such as buttons, pennies, or marshmallows as the "ones." To see a glimpse of the game in action, enjoy the short slideshow of pictures below:

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Interactive Hundreds Chart

In our class we use a hundreds chart for many different math skills. Today we used an interactive hundreds chart that you can also use at home. We practiced skip counting by coloring in the patterns of counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. We also created designs by identifying place value numbers. For example, if we heard 2 tens and 5 ones, we colored in the number 25. We also created our own designs that we will write clues for to be added to our math tubs. You will be surprised what your child will do with this chart!

Pennies for Pasta

Our school is currently participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Pasta for Pennies fundraising program. To learn more about the program and ways you can help, visit The Moseley News page. You can also visit the school's online donation page if you would like to make a contribution. As of today, our class has raised approximately $73 dollars in just two days! What a great way for the students to learn the character traits of caring and generosity.

Doubles Facts

A strategy to help children learn their math facts at home is to help them learn the Doubles Addition Facts (1+1=2, 2+2=4, etc.) as well as their related subtraction facts. For example, if I know 4+4=8, then 8-4=4. We have previously learned the Double Facts in class and are now working on Doubles Plus 1 and Doubles Minus 1. For extra practice at home visit the interactive flascards pages Doubles Addition, Doubles Subtraction, Doubles Plus 1, and Doubles Minus 1.

Spin and Spell

Are you looking for a way to help your child with spelling? In addition to practicing our weekly word wall at phoincs words at SpellingCity, you can visit Spin and Spell to help your child learn common, everyday words. Through this interactive website, your child will choose one of five categories: In and Around the Home, What We Wear, What We Eat, How We Get There, and The Animal Kingdom. Each category has numerous pictures to choose from. Once your child chooses a picture, they choose the correct letters to spell the word. The game is great because it allows the students chances to correct any misspellings and the students have the choice of having the word spelled for them.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

As a reminder, school will not be in session on Monday, January 18th, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This week we have been reading various books about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to society. In particular, we have been focusing on the character trait of fairness. Through art and writing, the students are expressing their "dreams" for the future. Here are a few of the students' "dreams":

• to go to the moon
• to plant trees and flowers over the entire world
• to give people love
• to help children get food
• to give everyone clothes
• to treat everyone the same no matter what

The students also created multicultural handprints as graphic organizers to list five facts they learned about Martin Luther King, Jr.

Shark Numbers: Place Value

During the third six weeks we have been working on furthering our number sense and Place Value through the use of Base Ten Blocks. Students have been building numbers with various objects, including the Base Ten Blocks, drawing reprentations of the numbers with sticks (ten longs) and dots (one units), and comparing numbers. In comparing numbers, students have been taught to look at the tens place first. Whichever number has the largest number in the tens place has to be the greatest number. If the numbers in the tens place are the same, then the students compare the ones place to see which is the greatest. To help your child identify numbers based on the Base Ten Block system, visit the Shark Pool Place Value game to have them identify the represented number. During the upcoming six weeks, we will be looking at numbers to 99.

Art in Motion

This week in math we have been identifying and exploring 3D shapes. In science we have been experimenting with motion. So, today we combined both in an art project. The students rolled spheres, or ping pong balls, covered in paint across their paper to make various designs. As the students worked, we discussed the attributes of various shapes and if they will roll, slide, or do both. The students are currently reflecting on their learning through writing. Enjoy a quick slideshow video of the students experimenting with shapes and motion.

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Money Matters

This six weeks we have been learning more about money; in paticular, we have been focusing on coins and their relationship to the penny. Students should be able to recognize a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter by sight and identify their value. As a part of the value, students are expected to know that a quarter is the same as twenty-five pennies, etc.

To help your children learn, we have been practicing the following poem in class:

Penny, penny, easily spent,
Copper brown and worth one cent.
Nickel, Nickel, thick and fat.
You're worth 5,
I know that.
Dime, dime, little and thin.
I remember, you’re worth 10.
Quarter, quarter, big and bold.
You're worth 25 I am told!

In addition to helping your child with this fun poem, you can visit ABCTeach to print the coins for your child to practice with at home.

The Polar Express: All Aboard!

The Polar Express arrived at Moseley this morning for all of the students to enjoy. As soon as we heard the train whistle, we jumped on board to be the first ones to experience the magic of the Polar Express. We enjoyed a special story time in the library with Mrs. Oliver. After listening to The Polar Express, we enjoyed a special treat of hot chocolate prepared for us by Mrs. Cato and Mrs. Fredd. In class, we graphed pictures from the story and answered questions. We also sang along to the music from the motion picture version of the book as we worked like busy little elves.

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Adding It All Up

We have been practicing addition and subtraction all year but this six weeks we have an increased focus on math facts. The students are expected to become fluent in their facts by answering addition facts within three seconds. Currently we are working on sums up to 10; by the end of the year we will be practicing sums up to 18. You can help your child practice their addition facts online at Math Fact Practice. Through this site, you can set timed goals for your child as well as track their progress.

You can also help by pointing out addition and subtraction situations in the real world. Examples include:

• There are five chicken nuggets on your plate. If you eat three, how many will be left? 5-3=2
• There are three people in the blue car. There are four people in the green car. How many people are there in all? 3+4=7
• I have six buttons on my shirt. You have four buttons on your shirt. How many more buttons do I have on my shirt than you? 6-4=2

Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree

When the weather outside is frightful, the classroom sure seems delightful! When the weather outside is too cold, we stay inside for indoor recess. Typically we play board games, but on one special day, we decorated our classroom Christmas tree. The students chose book cover ornaments for their favorite picture books to hang on the tree. We topped it all off with snowball ornaments and a snowflake on top. The students worked hard to space out the ornaments to ensure that everyone had enough room for their ornaments!

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We Rock!

December has been a busy month for us all so I am a little behind on my posts. A few weeks ago we visited the science lab to experiment with the properties of rocks. We found the mass and circumference of our rock, observed their colors when wet and dry, if they sink or float, and if they can be scratched by various objects. We also explored different types of soil by smelling, touching, and observing sand, clay, and loam. Enjoy a quick slideshow of our lab experience.

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Playing to Learn

Each day I meet with several small groups for guided reading. These groups are need based groups that target specific skills the students are working on. While I am meeting with small groups, the rest of the class is actively involved in independent learning. In our class we accomplish this through Literacy Stations. Literacy Stations are fun centers filled with age-appropriate learning materials targeted to reinforce reading and writing concepts previously taught in class. The students rotate to two stations per day with a partner. Students independently choose their own activity within their station. Station choices include ABC/Word Study, Big Books, Listening, Drama, Poetry, Writing and Handwriting, Pocket Chart, Classroom Library, Creation Station, Buddy Reading, and Computers. Enjoy a short video below of the students working in their various stations.

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Parent Communication

Our Parent Communication Resource Board has been updated. The board is located in the first grade common area. Here you will find our most current newsletter which is full of first grade activities as well as what we are learning. You will also find additional "Jet to Success Reading Logs" for your child to fill out as they read just for fun. As a reminder, the more your child reads, the better reader they will become. Our class gets to move our jet to a new cloud for every fifty books that are read. The "Jet to Success" reading contest is meant to encourage the love of reading. The contest's purpose is only successful with encouragement from home as well as school. On the board you will also find the first grade "wish list" which has specific items that are needed in our classes each day. If you are able to donate any items, they would be greatly appreciated. Donated items may be given to your child's teacher or placed in the donation bin on the Parent Communication Work Station shelves. Thank you for your continued support of our classroom and the entire first grade!